Consider the following statements: (i) It shall be the duty of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to audit all receipts which are payable into the Consolidated Fund of India. (ii) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall have authority to audit and report on the accounts of stores or stock kept in any office or department of the Union or a State. Choose the correct option:
- (a)Both (i) and (ii) are incorrect
- (b)Both (i) and (ii) are correct
- (c)(i) is incorrect but (ii) is correct
- (d)(i) is correct but (ii) is incorrect
Correct — B, both statements are correct. Statement (i) restates Section 16 of the Comptroller and Auditor-General's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971 — it is the CAG's duty to audit all receipts payable into the Consolidated Fund of India (and of each State and Union territory) and to satisfy himself that the rules and procedures securing those receipts are effective. Statement (ii) restates Section 17 — the CAG has authority to audit and report on the accounts of stores and stock kept in any office or department of the Union or a State. Both are genuine statutory duties, so 'Both (i) and (ii) are correct' is right.
- (a)Both (i) and (ii) are incorrect — Both statements accurately paraphrase real statutory duties (Sections 16 and 17 of the CAG Act, 1971), so calling both incorrect is wrong.
- (c)(i) is incorrect but (ii) is correct — Statement (i) is correct too — auditing receipts payable into the Consolidated Fund is expressly the CAG's duty under Section 16.
- (d)(i) is correct but (ii) is incorrect — Statement (ii) is also correct — audit of stores and stock is expressly authorised by Section 17 of the Act.
The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) is India's constitutional auditor (Articles 148-151). His detailed duties and powers are laid down not in the Constitution but in the CAG's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971. These cover audit of expenditure from, and receipts into, the Consolidated Fund, and of the accounts of stores and stock — but the CAG only audits and reports; he does not sanction spending or control the treasury.
Both statements paraphrase real sections of the 1971 Act (receipts under Section 16, stores and stock under Section 17), so the safe reading is 'both correct'. The trap is to assume receipts fall outside audit (people link the CAG only with expenditure) or that 'stores and stock' sounds too operational to be an audit duty.
- Articles 148-151 create the CAG; the detailed duties are set out in the CAG (DPC) Act, 1971.
- Section 16 - the CAG audits all receipts payable into the Consolidated Fund of India and of each State/UT.
- Section 17 - the CAG audits and reports on stores and stock kept in any office or department of the Union or a State.
- The CAG only audits and reports; it does not sanction expenditure or control the exchequer.
Both are genuine statutory duties of the CAG -> option (b) Both correct.
- Thinking the CAG audits only expenditure, not receipts
- Confusing the CAG's audit role with any power to sanction or control spending
MPPSC and UPSC ask this as statement-based true/false on CAG duties or 'which is NOT a function of the CAG' - anchor the duties to the 1971 Act and remember the CAG only audits and reports.
Which one of the following duties is NOT performed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?
- (a) To audit and report on all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India
- (b) To audit and report on all expenditure from the Contingency Funds and Public Accounts
- (c) To audit and report on all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts
- (d) To control the receipt and issue of public money, and to ensure that the public revenue is lodged in the exchequer
Answer(d) To control the receipt and issue of public money - this is NOT a CAG duty; the CAG only audits and reports.
Same concept - the scope of the CAG's audit duties, and the key limit that the CAG audits/reports but does not control the exchequer.
In India, other than ensuring that public funds are used efficiently and for intended purpose, what is the importance of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)? 1. CAG exercises exchequer control on behalf of the Parliament when the President of India declares national emergency/financial emergency. 2. CAG reports on the execution of projects or programmes by the ministries are discussed by the Public Accounts Committee. 3. Information from CAG reports can be used by investigating agencies to press charges against those who have violated the law while managing public finances. 4. While dealing with the audit and accounting of government companies, CAG has certain judicial powers for prosecuting those who violate the law. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1, 3 and 4 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer(c) 2 and 3 only
Tests the same idea - what the CAG's office does and does not do; it has audit power only, no exchequer control or judicial/prosecuting power.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India submits his report on the Union accounts to
- (a) Chief Justice of India
- (b) the Prime Minister
- (c) the Vice-President
- (d) None of the above
Answer(d) None of the above
Same office and its reporting duty - the CAG audits and reports, and those Union reports flow to the President, not the courts or the executive.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Constitution, the reports of the CAG relating to the accounts of the Union are submitted to whom?
- (a)Parliament directly
- (b)The President, who lays them before Parliament
- (c)The Prime Minister
- (d)The Finance Minister
Answer(b) The President, who causes them to be laid before Parliament (Article 151).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is NOT a function of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?
- (a)Audit of receipts payable into the Consolidated Fund
- (b)Audit of stores and stock
- (c)Sanctioning withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund
- (d)Audit of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund
Answer(c) Sanctioning withdrawals is not the CAG's job - the CAG only audits and reports.